More than 8,000 visitors and 300 exhibitors are expected in Berlin next week for the three-day World Publishing Expo, the largest global trade exhibition for the news publishing and media industry that will include some of the most influential names in the industry.
The event, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) will open on 7 October with a debate on the future of news publishing with Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, Andrew Miller, CEO of The Guardian, Tomas Brunegård, President of WAN-IFRA and Chairman of the Stampen Media Group, and American author and media analyst Ken Doctor.
"When it comes to the debate surrounding new technology, and ideas and resources for the news industry, the World Publishing Expo in Berlin is an extremely important event," said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA.
"As a city buzzing with innovative enterprises, Berlin is the perfect place to hold this event-packed fair," he said. "Participants will be able to get insights into new business models and access to an even broader network of emerging technology and service providers," he said.
The World Publishing Expo brings together suppliers to the industry with its thought leaders and decision makers. In addition to the exhibition, which showcases the latest technologies, the event features 200 speakers sharing their success stories, five strategic conferences focused on future business models, and four free stages focusing on developments in print, workflow efficiency, social-local-mobile and revenue generation.
Some of the highlights:
The Exhibition
The World Publishing Expo (IFRA Expo and Conference) will be held at the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds from 7 to 9 October next. The Expo, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) for more than four decades, is one of the world's best venues for the latest developments in print, workflow efficiency, social-local-mobile, revenue generation, and more.
Conferences for media professionals: both paid and free
More than 200 speakers and presenters will be featured over the Expo's three days, in both free and paid-for events.
The free events, to be held on four "Media Port" stages scattered throughout the Expo, will feature collaborations between publishers and suppliers and provide case studies of what can help publishers now. The paid events are for top-level industry executives and editors and will discuss strategies for the future of news publishing.
These premium events include the 6th Tablet and App Summit on 7 and 8 October, the World Editors Forum International Newsroom Summit on 8 and 9 October, and three Shaping the Future of News Publishing (SFN) Forums on digital printing opportunities (7 October), audience analytics (8 October) and new revenue streams (9 October).
The Tablet & App Summit will focus on the next generation of apps and tablets and present successful cases in what appears to be a golden age of experimentation. Among others speakers, Mario Garcia will share some of his iPad Design Lab ideas. Other speakers include Guy Crevier, President and Publisher of La Presse in Canada, which has invested millions in tablet strategy, and Audra Martin, Vice President Advertising and Content Marketing at The Economist Digital, which has been reinvented for mobile platforms.
The World Editors Forum's 12th International Newsroom Summit aims to provide strategies for breaking down barriers in the newsroom and increasing collaborations between editorial and technology and among broadcast, print and digital operations. Speakers include Raju Narisetti, Senior Vice President and Deputy Head of Strategy for News Corp., Kerry Northrup, creator of the US$2.5 million Newsplex prototype convergent newsroom-studio and currently the Turner Multimedia Professor at Western Kentucky University, and Anthony De Rosa, Editor-in-chief of Circa, the first born-on-mobile news publisher.
A new offering during the Expo, the three, one-day SFN Forums are closely linked to WAN-IFRA's own Shaping the Future of News Publishing reports, and will showcase case studies and successful experiences on a variety of up-to-date topics for the industry. This year's topics were chosen for their revenue and audience building opportunities: digital printing, audience analytics and new revenue streams.
The Open "Media Port" Stages will focus on four issues of key concern to news publishers: So-Lo-Mo (social-local-mobile), Power of Print, Workflow efficiency, and Revenue. Exhibitors and publishers alike will be demonstrating best practices in presentations that will continue non-stop throughout the three-day Expo. Philip Crawley, Publisher and CEO, The Globe and Mail, John Paton, CEO, Digital First Media, and Espen Egil Hansen, Executive Editor, Verdens Gang, are just of the few keynotes in the programme.
World Innovation Network
WAN-IFRA's World Innovation Network is an initiative designed to share new ideas and to provide a platform for publishers to network with innovators from within the industry and beyond. The WIN will be organising a hackathon during the Expo, and will showcase itself during a Media Port session that will feature: Johnny Ryan, Chief Innovation Officer at the Irish Times, Rick van Dijk, Operational Director for Stimuleringsfonds voor de Pers in the Netherlands, Ole Mølgaard, Program Director at CBS Executive, Denmark and many others.
Workshops
The Expo will be providing participants with the opportunity to attend five workshops: one for German speakers on Cross Media Sales (10 October), and four in English, on Smart Paywalls (sold out), Search Engine Optimisation, on Lean Manufacturing, and a tutorial on improving newspaper color quality for the International Newspaper Color Quality Club.
Social Events
WAN-IFRA events are always known for their conviviality, and the Expo is no exception. The Expo will feature a News Publishers' Night at the architectural monument Umspannwerk Kreuzberg, a former electricity generating facility that is now home to a variety of companies from the creative and web industry. Other events include a Women in Media event and an Apéritif Français.
Tour to Start Ups
The Expo will take advantage of Berlin's reputation as an incubator for start-up companies by organising a tour for participants to meet and network with these innovators.
